


a long, long way (to ba sing se)

by dragonbagel



Series: gimme shelter [8]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (not sokka/zuko tho), Angst, Drinking, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Post-Canon, Unhealthy Relationships, fuck jet all my homies hate jet, ive decided the drinking age is 16 don’t @ me, they fought a war they deserve it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26373922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonbagel/pseuds/dragonbagel
Summary: So there’s this bar in Ba Sing Se, and while it serves some impressively boozy concoctions, there’s no way in hell even its strongest drink has managed to manifest the biggest asshole known to man.“Jet?”or: three guys walk into a bar...
Relationships: Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: gimme shelter [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867984
Comments: 19
Kudos: 495





	a long, long way (to ba sing se)

So there’s this bar in Ba Sing Se. It’s a dingy, hole-in-the wall sort of place, tucked away in a back alley on the edge of the Middle Ring. The faded brick facade is unassuming, and the small lantern hung in the leftmost half-shuttered window is the only indication that the building itself is not condemned.

There’s this bar in Ba Sing Se, and the lucky few who know of it rave about its drinks. Some of them, the people say, are infused with the infamous herbal tea blends from the Jasmine Dragon, just a few blocks away. Other cocktails, it’s rumored, are mixed with liquors imported from far beyond the Earth Kingdom’s borders.

There’s this bar in Ba Sing Se, and the locals whisper that sometimes, the Fire Lord himself graces its premises. The regular clientele say nothing of his arrival until after he’s already departed, a strange loyalty to the leader of a nation that is not their own.

There’s this bar in Ba Sing Se, and Jet’s spent many, many moons trying to track it down. He’s tasted the foul brews of numerous shady bars across the city, and spent a pretty penny chasing a fairy tale at the bottom of a few too many bottles. He’s nearly given up, time and time again, convinced he will forever stumble through this quest for revenge against the ruler that burned his life, his _family,_ to the ground. But he continues to drink, and listen to the peoples’ rumors, just as he’s done since the moment he crawled his way up from beneath Lake Laogai years ago.

And today, he’s done it: he’s found the White Lotus Bar.

Now, all that’s left to do is wait.

* * *

So there’s this bar in Ba Sing Se, and it’s the only locale besides Uncle’s tea shop where Zuko can really, truly breathe. Here, he doesn’t have to drown under the pressure of rebuilding a war-torn nation. Here, he doesn’t have advisors vying for a chance to whisper in his ear. Here, he can simply _be._

His uncle recommended the place the first time he and Sokka had visited. He’d taken one look at the new worry lines between what should be Zuko’s brows, and pronounced he needed a bit more relaxation than tea could offer.

Zuko had been skeptical at first, considering he knew from long nights spent raiding his former ship’sliquor cabinet that Uncle wasn’t exactly a drinker. But he’d sworn by the place, and Zuko still had yet to find a tavern without patrons constantly breathing down his neck.

The White Lotus Bar, it turned out, was exactly the place he’d been looking for. It was small, and filled with a cozy batch of regulars who hardly batted an eye at his appearance. The change of pace was refreshing, and it soon became a go-to during his monthly visits with Uncle (or, unbeknownst to his various political colleagues, whenever peace talks with the Earth King got a bit too heated for his liking).

He’s usually reluctant to drink on his own—and, really, he prefers to resign himself to tea in Uncle’s apartment rather than act like some sort of desperate alcoholic—and tries to bring companions more often than not. Sometimes, Mai and Ty Lee accompany him. Other, more pleasurable times, it’s Sokka by his side.

His favorite visits, however, are with the former members of (the still frustratingly named) Team Avatar. Tonight, it’s a double-date with Aang and Katara in their usual corner table. Toph is apparently busy with her metalbending academy; and while Zuko misses her, he does _not_ miss the endless rounds of shots she always orders to prove that she is not only the greatest earthbender alive, but also the toughest drinker.

(Zuko learned to stop accepting her challenge after Sokka threatened to break up with him if he spent the night hunched over the toilet one more time.)

Aang and Katara, on the other hand, are major lightweights; and while more drinks aren’t exactly a strain on the royal treasury, it makes Zuko feel slightly better about his ability to hold his liquor when he isn’t being shown up by a smug sixteen-year-old.

In what’s likely a severe lapse in judgment, Zuko lets Sokka cajole him into ordering a cactus juice. (He’s no stranger to drugs, but this strange amalgamation of psychedelics and liquor is an entirely different beast.)

It’s this drink, undoubtedly, that causes what must be a nightmare-fueled hallucination to approach their table and call him by a name he hasn’t heard in years. It has to be, because the alternative is that a reanimated corpse of his past has sauntered up to torment him.

_“Jet?”_

* * *

So there’s this bar in Ba Sing Se, and while it serves some impressively boozy concoctions, there’s no way in hell even its strongest drink has managed to manifest the biggest asshole known to man.

Yes, Sokka ordered the cactus juice, and yes, it may have been a bad idea in hindsight. But the same drink that left him tripping balls in his youth (while he was severely dehydrated, he might add) has never, _ever,_ betrayed him like this before.

“How in La’s name are you alive?”

Okay, maybe not his most eloquent question. But can you blame him? Jet—the same Jet he saw get crushed by a giant fucking rock nearly four years ago—is standing right in front of him, very much _not_ dead.

Katara and Aang seem similarly disgruntled, though also relieved (because they’re stupid pacifists who _still_ don’t trust Sokka’s instincts).

The real kicker, though, is that Jet recognizes Zuko—and proceeds to try to strangle him in his seat.

“Hey!” Sokka protests, shoving Jet backwards. “What the hell is your problem?”

“He’s a firebender!” Jet says, trying to claw his way past Sokka. “He’s dangerous!”

The bar’s other patrons turn around at the commotion, but when Jet fixes them all with a vicious glare, they reluctantly return to their own conversations.

“Yeah, we know,” Sokka replies, annoyed. “What’s your point?”

“He’s a liar,” Jet says, leaning in towards Zuko again.

Zuko, strangely, shrinks back.

“Isn’t that right, Li?” Jet leers.

He spits the name out like a curse, and it’s incredibly confusing, because who the fuck is _Li?_

He asks as much, and Jet’s glare hardens. “Oh? Are you going by a different name now, ashmaker?”

“Jet,” Katara admonishes. “Don’t say that.”

It’s only then that Jet seems to notice the rest of the table’s occupants.

“Oh, this is rich,” he says. “You’ve got the goddamn Avatar _and_ another one of my exes on your side?”

What the hell did he mean, _“another one of my exes?”_

“Lay off, man,” Sokka says, staring him down. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re going on about, but I think you should leave before I kick your ass to the curb.”

Jet looks between Sokka and Zuko, and suddenly, the bastard _grins._ “Really?” he chides. _“Him?”_

He points a finger in Sokka’s direction, and Sokka’s filled with the inexplicable urge to bite it off of his stupid fucking hand.

“Tell me,” he says. “How many times did you have to get on your knees for him before he let you into his little group?”

Zuko looks away, blushing furiously.

“You got me arrested and left me to _rot_ beneath that stupid fucking lake.”

“I’m sorry,” Zuko mumbles.

“You’re _sorry?_ Seriously?”

“Hey,” Aang interjects. “We don’t need to fight.”

Jet scoffs. “I can’t believe the Avatar is a traitor, too.”

“A traitor to what?” Katara asks.

All she gets is an exasperated stare in response.

“Jet,” she says slowly after a moment’s pause. “You know the war is over, right?”

“Over?” he snarls. “The war is _never_ going to be over until the Fire Lord is in the fucking ground.”

Zuko gulps and exchanges a nervous glance with Sokka.

“Is that why you’re here?” Sokka asks. “To kill him?”

Jet snorts. “Yeah, as soon as the coward shows his fucking face.”

Sokka hadn’t thought this conversation could get any weirder, but evidently, he was wrong.

“Why don’t you guys just talk it out?” Aang asks, his eyes full of frustratingly neverending hope for nonviolence.

“Oh, sure,” Jet says sarcastically. “The next time the bastard shows up, we’ll have a nice little peace talk. Maybe we’ll share some drinks and sing a happy song while we’re at it.”

Aang frowns. “But Zuko’s right here.”

Sokka would find Jet’s confusion incredibly satisfying if it wasn’t for the puzzle pieces slowly sliding into place in his head.

“Zuko?” Jet says, his eyes darting back and forth between the table’s occupants before landing on Zuko. “ _You’re_ Zuko?”

Zuko doesn’t reply, instead staring down at his drink so intently that Sokka’s shocked it doesn’t catch on fire. 

“You got a problem with that?” Sokka asks, crossing his arms.

“Wow,” Jet says, a terrifying grin spreading over his features. “Who would’ve thought I fucked the Fire Lord?”

Aang and Katara look downright scandalized at his statement, and this time, when Zuko clenches his fists, what little remains of his cactus juice actually bursts into flames.

“I’m leaving,” Zuko grits out, scraping his chair back loudly and pushing past Jet towards the exit. The door swings shut behind him, creaking out a death sentence.

“I should kill you,” Sokka hisses, jabbing his finger at Jet.

The asshole simply smirks at the threat. 

“He’s got you wrapped around his finger, huh?” Jet muses. “I can’t say I blame you; he was always good with his mouth.”

Sokka slams his fist down on the table, jostling the glasses. “I’m giving you one more chance to get the fuck out before I call security.”

Jet just folds his arms over his chest, arrogant and stubborn as ever. “Make me.”

Sokka turns to Katara, whose eyes have hardened into the same glare that’s undoubtedly on his own face as well. “Deal with him, would you?” he says.

As soon as Katara nods, he makes a beeline for the door. _Please don’t let Zuko be doing something stupid,_ he prays. _Spirits, I’m_ begging _you_.

In a lucky twist of fate, Zuko is only in a slightly nerve-wracking position; he’s managed to climb onto the roof of a nearby building, visible only by his feet swinging as they hang over the edge. Sokka hoists himself up with a somewhat embarrassing grunt of exertion and sits down beside him.

“Hey,” he says, bumping his shoulder against Zuko’s. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Zuko shrugs and attempts to covertly hide a sniffle.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, voice thick with unshed tears. “I understand if you’re upset. You must think I’m disgusting.”

“I’m not mad,” Sokka says, scooting closer.

“Why?” His genuine confusion breaks Sokka’s heart just a little bit more.

Sokka shrugs. “It’s in the past. It doesn’t even matter, really.”

Zuko stares down at his feet. “No one was ever supposed to find out.”

“You know it’s nothing to be ashamed of, right?”

The way Zuko’s good eye widens indicates that he, in fact, most definitely does _not_ know that.

“It was stupid,” he says. “ _I_ was stupid.”

Sokka shakes his head. “I think you were scared, and lonely, and I just...I wish I’d known you then, because you deserve so much fucking better than that asshole.”

Zuko snorts at this, and Sokka counts it as a win.

“You did know me then,” he says. “I chased you halfway around the globe.”

“Okay, yeah, you were kind of a dick.”

“I was just so- so goddamn _angry_ and confused all the time,” he admits. “I guess I just liked that Jet made me feel something.”

He closes his eyes and bites his lip, which has begun to warble.

“Hey,” Sokka says softly. “Look at me.”

He waits until Zuko meets his gaze before slowly bringing a hand towards his unscarred cheek; he learned early on in their relationship that touching his boyfriend’s face without warning is a surefire way to get yelled at (and probably light something in the vicinity on fire).

Then, every so gently, he presses a kiss to his lips.

“It’s okay. I mean that. And I’ll keep telling you every day of our fucking lives until we’re old and gross and wrinkly in all the wrong places if I have to.”

Zuko scrunches his nose at this. “Please never say that again.”

“What? The part about our shriveled balls?”

“You’re a menace, you know that?”

Sokka grins. “It’s a title I wear with pride.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Zuko mutters. He sounds annoyed, but Sokka sees the small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Says the guy who kissed the same dude as my _sister._ ”

Zuko groans and puts his head in his hands. “Agni, I’ve traumatized them all, haven’t I?”

Sokka shrugs. “They’re basically adults, so…” He pauses and grimaces. “Wait, no, I don’t want to think about that.”

Zuko laughs, and it’s the most beautiful sound Sokka has ever heard.

“Come on,” he says, interlacing his fingers with Zuko’s. “Let’s go see if Katara’s frozen his dick off yet.”

Instead of leading Sokka back to the ground (because there _has_ to be a better way to climb down than the awful parkour he did on the way up, right?), Zuko pulls him in for another kiss.

“Thank you,” he says when he leans back.

“Of course.” Sokka runs his thumb over the back of Zuko’s hand, warm and calloused and familiar in his own. “Oh, and I call dibs on kicking him in the nuts first.”

“No fair!” Zuko shouts, yanking his arm back and using it to swing himself down to the street below, Sokka following close behind (though far less gracefully).

So there’s this bar in Ba Sing Se.

And if Sokka happens to let Zuko beat him in the mad dash from the roof towards it...well, no one really needs to know.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment/kudos if you enjoyed!!!
> 
> also remember that even tho it doesn’t happen in this, sharing your sexual history with a partner is extremely important and should always be discussed beforehand


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